Collection: Wolves At The Gate

Featured Judge & Jury collaborator: Wolves At The Gate

Wolves At The Gate on Caleb Hyles’ “DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN!”

Ohio metalcore band Wolves At The Gate joins Judge & Jury artist Caleb Hyles and Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm on “DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN!”—an explosive reworking that pushes the original song into heavier, more urgent territory with technical guitars, crushing rhythms, melodic hooks and the band’s signature clean-and-screamed vocal contrast.

Released by Judge & Jury Records on May 31, 2024, the collaboration expands Caleb Hyles and Lacey Sturm’s original “Darkness Before The Dawn,” released April 21, 2023. The Wolves At The Gate version became the opening track of the five-song DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN! EP, pairing Hyles’ theatrical rock vocals and Sturm’s unmistakable power with the metalcore intensity of Steve Cobucci, Nick Detty and Wolves At The Gate.

Listen to “DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN!” | Stream on Apple Music

About Wolves At The Gate

Formed in Ohio in 2008, Wolves At The Gate grew from local shows into one of modern Christian metalcore’s most established bands. Their 2011 debut EP We Are the Ones led to a long-running partnership with Solid State Records and the 2012 full-length Captors. Across albums including VxV, Types & Shadows, Eclipse, Eulogies and Wasteland, the group has built a devoted audience through emotionally direct songwriting, faith-centered themes and high-impact performances.

Wolves At The Gate’s musical style blends metalcore, post-hardcore, alternative metal and melodic hard rock. Their sound is defined by muscular riffs, technical guitar work, forceful breakdowns and an expressive vocal exchange between guitarist and clean vocalist Steve Cobucci and harsh vocalist Nick Detty. The band also uses atmospheric keys, electronics and cinematic textures to give its heavy music a sense of scale while keeping melody and lyrical storytelling at the center.

The band’s sixth full-length album, Wasteland, was released May 30, 2025 through Solid State Records. Its cinematic concept, darker electronic atmosphere and intense metalcore production marked another evolution for Wolves At The Gate while preserving the dynamic vocals, memorable choruses and spiritual focus that have defined the group.

The history behind the Caleb Hyles collaboration

Caleb Hyles began working with Howard Benson, Neil Sanderson and Judge & Jury Records in 2022 as he expanded from viral cover performances into original rock and metal. His 2023 single “Darkness Before The Dawn” with Lacey Sturm became a defining early release from that partnership. One year later, Wolves At The Gate were invited to rebuild the song as a harder metalcore collaboration.

The connection went deeper than a guest feature. Steve Cobucci co-produced the new version with Howard Benson and Joe Rickard, contributed guitar and joined Nick Detty on vocals. Joey Alarcon also supplied guitar, allowing Wolves At The Gate’s musicianship and dual-vocal identity to reshape the track from the inside out. The result links Caleb Hyles’ dramatic alternative-rock style, Lacey Sturm’s emotionally charged delivery and Wolves At The Gate’s melodic metalcore sound in a single Judge & Jury release.

The song centers on pushing through fear, shame and uncertainty when hope feels distant. Wolves At The Gate’s heavier arrangement amplifies that struggle, turning the transition from darkness toward dawn into a cathartic metalcore anthem.

“DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN!” release and credits

Artists: Caleb Hyles, Lacey Sturm, Wolves At The Gate and Judge & Jury
Release date: May 31, 2024
Original version: “Darkness Before The Dawn” — released April 21, 2023
Written by: Caleb Hyles, Jonathan Young and Lacey Sturm
Produced by: Howard Benson, Joe Rickard and Steve Cobucci
Vocals: Caleb Hyles, Lacey Sturm, Jonathan Young, Steve Cobucci and Nick Detty
Guitar: Joey Alarcon and Steve Cobucci
Label: Judge & Jury Records

Shop Caleb Hyles’ The Darkness Before The Dawn

Explore signed and standard vinyl and CD editions of Caleb Hyles’ 2025 album The Darkness Before The Dawn below. Released February 28, 2025, the album grew from the original title track and expands its themes of depression, anxiety, resilience, faith and hope. The Wolves At The Gate collaboration is a separate, heavier reworking of that title song.